Non-Fiction: On Science Fiction NCERT Solutions | Class 12 English Kaleidoscope - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Understanding The Text

Q1: What makes for the distinction between the various genres of fiction—‘a sports story’, ‘a Western story’, ‘a jungle story’ and science fiction?
Ans: In this story author made a distinction between various genres of fiction—‘a sports story’, ‘a Western story’, ‘a jungle story’ and science fiction by mentioning that “Science fiction is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not through its content but through its background. Let me explain the difference that makes. A ‘sports story’ must have, as part of its content, some competitive activity, generally of an athletic nature. A Western story must have, as part of its content, the nomadic life of the cowboy of the American West in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The ‘jungle story’ must have, as part of its content, the dangers implicit in a forested tropical wilderness.

Q2: How does Asimov establish that John Campbell was wrong in his opinion that it is not possible for a science fiction mystery to be fair to a reader in the same way as a classical mystery is?
Ans: Asimov established that John Campbell was wrong in his opinion that it is not possible for a science fiction mystery to be fair to a reader in the same way as a classical mystery is, as he said that:
John treated or interpreted science fiction in wrong way. In a moment of failure, he maintained that it was impossible to write a science fiction mystery. The opportunities in science fiction were so broad, he said. I imagine that what he expected was the sudden change of rules of the story and he was confused in his own thoughts. Asimov believed that it is fair for science fiction as well to be fair to a reader.

Q3: What are the pitfalls that the writer of science fiction mystery must guard against?
Ans: According to author, the pitfalls that the writer of science fiction mystery must guard against, as he said in these lines that:
Writing a scientific mystery, then, has its extraordinary pitfalls and difficulties; how much more so the writing of a science fiction mystery. In science fiction, you not only must know your science, but you must also have a rational notion as to how to modify or extrapolate that science. That, however, only means that writing a science fiction mystery is difficult; it does not mean that it is conceptually impossible as John Campbell thought. After all, it is as perfectly possible to cling to the rules of the game in science fiction mysteries as in ordinary ones.

Talking About The Text

Q1: Imagination and fantasy help human beings to speculate upon the possible explanations for the complexity and unpredictability of the phenomena in the universe.
Ans: Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing essentially exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is controllable to the scientific process. I believe that imagination and fantasy plays a major role in helping a human being in getting possible outcome or result that can explain the complexity and unpredictability of the phenomena in the universe as things related to science are based on imagination as science born with imagination only. That is why, imagination and fantasy help human beings to speculate upon the possible explanations for the complexity and unpredictability of the phenomena in the universe because these things do not exist in reality that everyone could accept.

Q2: The difference that science and technology have made to everyday life today was visualised in science fiction fifty years ago.
Ans: Science fiction have built a bridge between science that was fifty years ago and science today. It was around many years age science is somewhere that exist in this universe, fifty years ago science was visualised as something which is extraordinary, difficult to imagine and sometimes people relates it to superstitious energy but now science and technology had taken a new shape which represented as a clear picture in front of every human being. Everyone today is aware of science and technology make critical studies on it . This is what make difference in science and technology have made to everyday life today was visualised in science fiction fifty years ago.

Appreciation

Q1: Discuss the author’s attitude towards the pre-scientific imagination and the tone he adopts while talking about it.
Ans: Author while talking about pre-scientific imagination mentioned that:

• I have often made the point that true science fiction is a creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people get the idea that it is science and technology that produce the future
• Naturally, no one could possibly get that idea until the rate of scientific and technological change became great enough to be noticed by people in the course of their lifetime. Yet there must have been something that came before science fiction, something that was not science fiction and yet filled the same emotional needs.
• There was the notion that the Universe is full of superstitious things like some sort of energy or super human was the leader of universe who plays this universe.

The author’s attitude towards the pre-scientific imagination and the tone he adopts while talking about it is “Absurd” which is unusual as pre-scientific imaginations are not usual and logical because it was not evident.

Q2: Observe how the paragraph, as a form, has been used in the essay. Some paragraphs consist of just one sentence. What purpose do you think the author had in putting them in this manner?
Ans: Paragraphs that consist of just one sentence are:

• The goals of these ancient stories are the same as those of modern science fiction—the depiction of life as we don’t know it.
• Science fiction is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not through its content but through its background.

In first paragraph, author is talking about some ancient and modern science fiction and in second paragraph author is putting a light on science fiction background and its genres. Author put these paragraphs in one line as to put a strong plot in explaining what science fiction actually was in different forms.

Q3: Mark the linkers used by the author to connect the point he makes in one paragraph with that in the next. For example, let me explain the difference that makes in the last line of Para 1 of Section II. These are called discourse markers or discourse signallers.
Ans: Linkers used by the author to connect the point he makes in one paragraph with that in the next are as follows:

• The goals of these ancient stories are the same as those of modern science fiction—the depiction of life as we don’t know it: The emotional needs that are fulfilled are the same, the satisfaction of the longing for wonder.
• Science fiction is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not through its content but through its background: Let me explain the difference that makes.